Big Bad Wolf
by mute90
Summary: "The first time Jason killed someone, Sonny was there, and it was a moment he'd remember with the same crystal clarity that he remembered Lily's death and his mother lying on the floor beaten and bloody."


Warnings: Violence, murder  
Characters: Jason Morgan, Sonny Corinthos  
Summary: Jason's first kill

A/N: The 'promise' Sonny mentions is a quote from the show when Jason convinces Sonny to keep him around: "If you think I'll slow you down or that I can't carry my own weight, you'll see different. All I want is a chance."

* * *

The first time Jason killed someone, Sonny was there, and it was a moment he'd remember with the same crystal clarity that he remembered Lily's death and his mother lying on the floor beaten and bloody.

It wasn't a shoot out. It was almost anticlimactic when you looked at the details. Two men running the wrong kind of business out of his territory needed to be shut down. It was early in his takeover of Rivera's turf and his boys were ready to set an example. They dragged the men outside their little hole-in-the-docks and dropped them to their knees in front of him. Sonny couldn't remember what he said next. It might have been some crap about 'his territory' and 'paying the price'. It didn't matter. It was all about putting the ever-loving fear of _god_ in those men so he could send out the message that he had everything under control when he really just wanted it all to disappear - boom! - in bright lights and deafening noise. Like Lily. Like his unborn child. Gone in an instant.

The men in front of him shifted nervously, probably because he'd zoned out again. According to some, he did that.

See, right then and there, Sonny could've gotten messy. Could've beat those assholes to death and then had it cleaned up _nice_. Could've kept his hands clean and had them taken out on a boat. The night wasn't just about him, though. It wasn't just an _example_. It was an _induction_. It was a _lesson_. Jason wanted in, had argued to be there tonight because Sonny wasn't 'hearing so well today' like any of it mattered, like his death out here would be some big loss to a world that didn't. give. a. damn. Well, Jason just didn't get it. Didn't understand death, couldn't wrap his brain around what it meant to lose a life. Well, that was fine. Sonny was _happy_ to _help_.

"Jason."

Jason came forward automatically. Kid could follow orders great as long as they didn't involve 'sit' and 'stay'. Never wasted time with pointless yammering. Never backed down even when he should. Even had his gun out. Both hands around the barrel, pointing at the floor just like Sonny's man taught him.

He caught Sonny's eye and the rage cooled to a simmer. Jason had that effect. Young and smart and eager, always leaving Sonny feeling like a mix between the saviour hunter and the big bad wolf.

Sonny stepped even closer to him, angled so his chest was centimetres away from Jason's shoulder. Didn't bother with personal space because it didn't exist with them. (Too late to turn back now, Jason.) He put a hand on his shoulder. "You remember what you promised me?" he said, just low enough to be an undecipherable mutter to the men in front of them. "You'd carry your own weight. You would _not_ slow me down. You wanted a chance to prove yourself. Well, here's your chance."

Jason continued watching him, waiting with eerie calm for the order he had to know was coming.

"Take them out. Both of them. Now."

Jason didn't hesitate. He turned away from Sonny. In one smooth motion, his gun came up and he pulled the trigger once and then shifted his aim and fired again.

Sonny didn't see the men get hit, only heard the thuds as their bodies fell. Instead, he watched Jason's face. Jason didn't blink as he took the shots but froze when he was done. His eyebrows furrowed and his gun stayed ready like he thought those sons of bitches were gonna get back up. He didn't understand death. He wasn't a friend to it like someone in the business oughta be, like Sonny should have been before death made a surprise visit. But he'd learn. Sonny would teach him. Sonny's kind of arrogance and stupidity _cost_ and that wasn't a price Jason would pay. "Look at me," Sonny ordered.

Jason's eyes returned to Sonny's with that confusion and uncertainty that occasionally snuck out from beneath that chip on his shoulder. "That's dead, then?"

"That's kill," Sonny corrected softly. His rage went cold some time after that first shot and now that cold was creeping throughout his body, falling just short of where his hand still lay on Jason's shoulder. "Good job." He squeezed harder, tight enough that it had to be painful but Jason's confusion melted away in the face of Sonny's approval, his uncertainty always retreating from Sonny's pride.

Years later, when the big bad wolf would bite and snarl uselessly at the shadows in his mind, Sonny held Jason's shoulder just like that and gasped, "I'm sorry." In the face of Jason's confusion, he laughed. "I'm so proud of you. So, so proud of you. And I'm sorry." He fell to his knees and Jason fell with him. "Don't you see? The hunter and the wolf?" He looped an arm around Jason's neck to pull him closer, burying his face in Jason's shoulder as he whispered, "They're the same."


End file.
